FRANKLIN -- West St. Mary’s Wolfpack has a lot of growing up to do, the Wolfpack’s head coach said after a rough and tumble outing left them bruised and 0-5 at midseason.

The Wolfpack players are young and have little experience, Andre Lockley said. It showed Friday night in a 28-7 “homecoming” loss to Berwick’s Panthers.

Trailing 7-0 at halftime, Berwick ran the table in the second half -- scoring four unanswered touchdowns -- for the come-from-behind victory over winless West St. Mary.

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Some homecoming game for WSM. Hurricane Gustav’s destructive force Sept. 1 severely damaged WSM’s football stadium and repairs are being made, a development that forced the homecoming game to be played at Franklin Senior High’s J.C. Dry Stadium.

Wolfpack fans were a late-arriving crowd. Twenty minutes before kickoff about 30 people sat on the WSM side but midway through the opening quarter at least 150 people were cheering the players wearing dark blue with a light blue helmet.

Berwick quarterback Seth Anslem and a stifling Panthers’ defense made sure there was little for the homecoming crowd to cheer about by dominating a penalty-filled second half and finishing with nearly 400 yards in total offense. West St. Mary, which had its starting quarterback and a defensive standout knocked out of the game in the second half, managed 175 yards total offense.

Lockley spoke softly after his team’s fifth straight loss of 2008. As Lockley walked slowly across the field, his assistant coaches told the players to meet in front of the WSM band before loading the bus.

“This hasn’t been a typical season with those two hurricanes and all those things with a young, inexperienced team that just doesn’t handle it well. We have to stick to the basics,” Lockley said, noting a 40-player roster with just five seniors, including starting running back Jerwone Kiel, a dependable ballcarrier who suffered a separated shoulder in practice Tuesday and played sparingly Friday.

Usually, he said, the nondistrict schedule can help a team gain experience and maturity. But that didn’t happen, he said, adding “we have a lot of growing up to do.”

He was disappointed one of his captains, junior linebacker Louis Green, was ejected late midway through the fourth quarter while getting two flags on one play from his linebacker spot. It happened after WSM’s cornerback was knocked out of the game.

But Lockley lauded Kiel’s desire to play.

“He has a competitive spirit and a will to win. We’ve got to get the rest of the kids to match his intensity,” he said, noting Kiel asked to get in the game since it was his final homecoming game.

The Panthers, 4-1, took it to his team, he said.

“You can see on film and see in their record they’re much more aggressive offensively and defensively. They just physically whipped our butts. They executed well and drove the ball well,” Lockley said.

West St. Mary’s offensive highlight started with a lowlight midway through the second quarter when senior quarterback Ricardo Francis stepped up in the pocket on first-and-10 at the WSM 44 and fired a medium-range pass that turned into a long gainer inside the Berwick 10. But a holding penalty brought it back.

Two plays later Francis cocked back and completed a 52-yard pass to the Berwick 22.

Three plays later a seven-yard touchdown pass by Francis put the Wolfpack up 7-0 with 5:10 to play after Carlos Alvarez’ PAT.

Berwick cut the deficit to 7-6 by marching 61 yards in six plays to open the second half. Running back Jarad Loston’s 15-yard touchdown run came at 9:18. The extra point kick was wide left.

The Panthers took the lead for good after Alvarez came up just short on a 41-yard field goal attempt with 8:10 to play in the third quarter. A 30-yard pass from Francis to Kiel was the key play on the drive by WSM.

But Berwick overcame one of 10 penalties for 115 yards on its next series to go ahead on Anslem’s 13-yard scoring run at 5:32 in the third quarter. A 72-yard pass from Anslem to Chas Cranford put the Panthers in business at the WSM 13.

Francis was driven from the game on a vicious hit early in the fourth quarter. The Panthers were flagged for offsides and a helmet-to-helmet blow on the play.

Referees brought both teams together to talk to them after that play and three plays later Berwick cornerback Jimmy Fry intercepted a pass and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown that, coupled with Anslem’s 2-point conversion run, put the Panthers on top 21-7.

Anslem added a 10-yard touchdown run at 6:33 and Quinn Thibodeaux kicked the extra point to make it 28-7. That series began after a long delay on the field because WSM’s Demone Beasley was leveled on a block during a Berwick punt return on the far sideline and had to be taken to Franklin Foundation Hospital.

Lockley said the junior cornerback, who suffered whiplash on the play, was hospitalized overnight for observation and tests and released this morning.